He started his journalism career in 1992 as a freelance writer for Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Germany’s largest daily national newspaper and soon specialised in air transport. Jens joined Aviation Week and Aviation Daily in 2000 as one of the European correspondents. Later his role was expanded to cover international air transport. In 2013 he was named Managing Editor Commercial.
Jens frequently appears on radio and TV to comment on industry matters. In 2003, he received the Hugo Junkers Award of the German aviation press for his coverage of Fairchild Dornier’s bankruptcy. He was named the country’s top travel and air transport writer by the Travel Industry Club three times. Jens graduated from the Munich School of Journalism.
Lufthansa will introduce New York as the fourth destination for its Airbus A380 in February. The aircraft will initially fly to New York John F. Kennedy Airport twice weekly, but Lufthansa plans to make that service daily within two months. The aircraft will replace Airbus A330-300s and Boeing 747-400s on the route. Lufthansa's A380s are currently flying to Beijing, Tokyo and Johannesburg. The airline will have five of the type by the time the New York flights are launched. With the service, Lufthansa will become the third carrier to fly the A380 to JFK.
Lufthansa placed an order for an additional eight Embraer 195s. The deal is valued at $338 million at list prices. Lufthansa ordered 30 Embraer 190s and 195s in 2007, but most of the aircraft have already been delivered. Embraer says the additional order makes the group the largest E-jet operator in Europe. The aircraft currently in service have been allocated to Augsburg Airways, Lufthansa CityLine and Air Dolomiti.
German airlines and airports have set up a new and combined industry association in an effort to strengthen their lobbying presence in Berlin. The new group, Bundesverband der Deutschen Luftverkehrswirtschaft (BDL) has been in the works for several months and is a direct result of the federal government’s decision to introduce a passenger tax in 2011. Airlines and airports were strongly opposed to the move but found that, unlike other industry sectors, they did not have sufficient influence in the political arena to stop the tax.
